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Vaynor - First Up the Hill, then a Crash on Three Wheels As Yvonne was packing up the Celica for Vaynor, I was surprised and concerned to see she was also loading up my trike. This is basically an electrically powered front wheel and handlebars which, when attached to my wheelchair, converts it to a powered trike, the problem being that this adds up to being a large package to get in the back of the car, along with the weekend luggage. She was as determined as ever though and all went in, including me. The topless journey to Shrewsbury was fine, apart from my navigation failure at the end of the M6 toll road (again!). It was a nice touch for Graham to organise a pub for us earlier arrivals to meet up on the Friday evening. We were well looked after by Mike Norton and his son Tom, with added entertainment by the France versus Togo match on television. |
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A night in a Travelodge just around the corner from the start point enabled us to get there in good time, for a change. I appreciated the breakfast of a large bap containing bacon and sausages, as I could then meander around the car park having breakfast and admiring the various exotica that had arrived.
We took our time and were one of
the last to leave, confident that our secret plan would get us to the finish
early. One of the benefits of being event coordinator is I get to see the
route maps in plenty of time and was able to see the route out got to within
about a mile of the route back at one point. I'm afraid we are more
interested in the cars and socialising than the driving, so we stopped at
this shortcut and took a break. Yvonne went into the bakers and got us some
lovely fresh baked cakes for elevenses, even hearing a couple of ladies
speaking Welsh to make her feel she really was abroad. We arrived at the entrance to Vaynor Park to find it blocked by a dark blue Jaguar E type, the driver being somewhat flustered by our early arrival. He was just checking the monitoring equipment was in place and functioning for the route up the hill through the park. As we drove in I could see why Graham had been so excited about such a venue, we slowly rose up through lots of trees, were directed through an archway and found the lovely house situated at the top of the hill. We were parked on the oval driveway leading from the archway to the house. This soon began filling with cars as the others started arriving. |
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The sun enabled us to have a very pleasant lunch outside, getting to know a few other Bears during the meal. Mine had to be caught short though, as the call went out for the start of the accents. Mike had arranged for me and my trike to be the first machine up the hill. I got myself onto the hill, with an E type behind me, protecting my tail and awaiting the call to start. When it did, I released the main wheel brakes and the rubber cover on one of the brake levers came off, falling to the road! I had to fumble around to pick it up and put it back in place, adding a little extra excitement for me, before I was able to release them again, start opening the throttle and release the front wheel brakes. The front wheel slipped a couple of times until the traction control got itself adjusted, then pulled itself firmly up the hill. The finishing stretch was almost level and the trike was still accelerating at 14 mph as I went over the finishing line, waving my hat to the watching crowd! |
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The noisier machines are then took their turn, whilst Yvonne and I toured the gardens. These had amazing views over the surrounding countryside and a wide path running through it. Unfortunately, most of this path was covered in deep, coarse gravel, fine for walking on, not so suitable for my trike, especially when combined with the steep slopes. As we took the first descent I put the front brakes on, which stopped the front wheel turning, but didn't stop my descent! This could only be slowed to a merely exciting level by Yvonne holding on to the handles at the back of the chair and applying further braking effort. I was basically skiing down the path, not entirely in control! The ascent was equally interesting. And you will have thought we just went for a gentle stroll round the garden! As the classic was on a Saturday, we'd booked ourselves into a hotel near Brignorth, giving us a more leisurely drive home. The rooms were wonderful, the restaurant lovely and the service exquisite! Our only regret was we hadn't left Vaynor earlier. The next day we stopped off at an arboretum on the way home. This consisted of an old farm on the top of the hill, with wooded slopes leading down to a stream in the valley below. We should have learned our lesson the day before, but we headed down through the trees and into the valley. This was an earth path, with a loose surface and once again was steep. Using the same technique as before, we started our descent into the valley. Yvonne then announced she couldn't hold me any more, let go, and I careered off down the hill, not entirely sure I was going to make the corner at the bottom or carry on into the stream! I made it though and there before us lay a pleasant, undulating path alongside the stream and through the trees, all in dappled sunlight. I soon learned that by picking up speed on a downward slope and along the flat, I could get to the top of the next uphill section, where I would wait for Yvonne to catch up. This worked fine until we came to the last of these undulations. I saw that I would have to make a greater height at the end of this one, so picked up all the speed I could and with the throttle fully opened I shot up the hill. I soon came to the conclusion I wasn't going to make the top though, so I would just apply the brakes and wait for Yvonne to catch up. |
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Unfortunately, as I came to a stop on this uphill slope, the brakes held the front wheel stationery, but the loose earth and the light weight acting through it meant the wheel started sliding again, only this time I was heading backwards! As I headed off back down the hill, the chair started veering to the left, towards the stream! I was relieved when we hit an obstruction and came to a stop, but once again this was only a temporary pause in the proceedings. The left main wheel was now rather higher up than the right and I was unceremoniously tipped out of the chair! At this point Yvonne was still 100 yd. behind, watching incredulously as this scene unfolded before her. I'm usually rather good at falling over though, and this proved no exception - my only injuries being a couple of minor scratches. Yvonne found some other walkers and the three of them soon had me back in the chair, the trike assembled and back on my way. We climbed out of the valley, more slowly this time. After that, we could do no more than head home. This was on the clearest roads we have known on a late Sunday afternoon, a mystery until we realised it was the England vs Ecuador match - perhaps we should have the World Cup every summer? Dave Peat
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